Greta Gerwig and Netflix were engaged in a cold war following the filmmaker’s larger-than-life vision for the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia adaptation with contentions surrounding the release strategy and turning the anticipation into a nail-biter. With the streaming giant’s release model threatening and undermining the film’s theatrical potential, Gerwig cited the material’s scope to emphasize and stand by the importance of a theatrical release. 

While earlier reports speculated mitigation was in the works between the streamer and the filmmaker, recent ones finally confirm that Gerwig may have gotten just what she wanted with an IMAX release preceding the film’s streaming arrival.

According to a recent report by Puck News, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has agreed to an exclusive IMAX release for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie, based on C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia books. The film will reportedly hit about 1,000 IMAX screens around the globe on Thanksgiving Day 2026, November 26. Plus, Narnia will not be released on Netflix until Christmas, giving it a four-week window of theatrical run before its streaming debut, though IMAX has only guaranteed to play it for two weeks.

The third-week run in theaters will depend on demand with the likelihood of the film hitting some non-IMAX theaters before a Netflix release. Netflix has additionally added a key condition for identifying the movie as a “Netflix/IMAX” title from the get-go. To top that off, Gerwig will reportedly use IMAX and regular cameras to cater to this dual release. While previous reports speculated a potential three-to-five weeks run across 2000 IMAX screens, this new one comes with a confirmation.

Greta Gerwig’s Dream Netflix Project ‘Narnia’ Register a Big Win, 2 Years Before Release Window

Although Greta Gerwig’s lamentations are now the ghosts of the past, here is a lowdown on what went down between the director and the streamer.

According to previous reports by Puck News, Greta Gerwig expressed concerns regarding the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia movie’s Netflix release, to which she has been attached since 2020. She allegedly made friendly requests to Netflix’s new film unit head, Dan Lin, to highlight the sheer scale of growth of the material if a theatrical release was in the cards. However, she was left “bummed” about the streaming-only offer back in the day.

Netflix with its rights to all Narnia books wanted to fulfill Gerwig’s wishes, but their prioritization of streaming over theatrical releases acted like forks in the road. With its limitations standing on the road of Gerwig’s epic vision, a negotiation was hard to forecast. However, now that one has been made, the streaming giant has turned the spine-chillers into anticipation with all eyes on the 2026 release.

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What do you think of Greta Gerwig's Narnia for Netflix's IMAX release before its streaming debut? Let us know in the comments below!